Advocacy and Evidence Blog

Hearsay: Debunking or Extolling the Evidence Once Admitted

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Lawyers fight over hearsay admissibility, concentrating on whether foundational requirements have been met. But, once admitted, the hearsay is just ‘there.’ The leading textbooks on trial advocacy offer no advice on how to deal with hearsay, whether for the proponent to convince the jury of its reliability or the opponent to show its deficiencies. The

Are The “10 Commandments of Cross-Examination” Sufficient?

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For forty-plus years, learning the art of trial advocacy has included the obligatory viewing of a tape of Irving Younger’s “10 Commandments of Cross-Examination” lecture. And every lawyer who has ventured into the courtroom has seen – if not personally experienced – the dire consequences when a commandment is violated, in particular when the cross-examiner